While spaceships plow the expanses of the galaxy, anime gradually captures the world. There is no country without a couple of dozens of fans of Japanese animation. Experienced otaku know that it happens not only in different genres, but also in species. But novice animeshniki are increasingly asking themselves what OVA is in anime. How does it differ from a series or a feature film, what happens, and why is it created? Let's find out.
What is OVA in anime?
OVA or, as it is customary to say in the country of the Rising Sun, the original anime video is a specific series format that is designed exclusively for DVD or network. “Ovashka” will never be shown in a movie theater or on TV screens, as is done with full-fledged anime series or films in Japan.
The first OVA was released in 1983 for science fiction drama. After her debut, a similar genre was actively used to create 18+ category videos, only in 1983 14 OVAs were released, 11 of which were intended for an audience limited in age.
Story line
To date, "ovash" come out after almost every season of the series. There are never more than six, on average 2 or 3. The storylines of the works are not a continuation of the anime. Usually this is either an adaptation of the chapters of the manga that were not included in the series, or a separate story with the main characters. Like, for example, the anime “Fairy Tail” (OVA 2nd). In it, heroes appear in front of the audience by residents of the ordinary world, and not by members of the guild of wizards.
But in the anime “Very Nice God”, OVA talks about the daily life of Nanami and Tomoe. “Ovashka” is not a continuation of the storyline of the season, it is a small whole story, which consists of the plot, the development of the plot and the denouement. And all this fits in the standard 24 minutes.
OVA and Filler
When otaku beginners do not know what OVA is in anime, they often confuse these works with fillers. In television, fillers are additional episodes that are in no way connected with the main plot, but are added solely to increase the duration of the series. If you watch the series and skip a couple of fillers, then this will in no way affect the perception of the plot. A great example of a filler series would be Naruto: The Hurricane Chronicles. This work, one of the dubbers, even called "Naruto: Hurricane Fillers." Of the 487 series that have been released at the moment, about 200 are fillers. The cause of fillers is often the quick release of anime series. And at this pace, the manga by which the series is being shot is not kept pace. Therefore, animators are forced to slow down the release of the series, and at the same time not leave the audience without another series with their favorite characters.
Quality assurance
OVA and filler are similar only in one thing - they do not affect the storyline that develops in the series. The filler is much weaker than the original series, both in terms of stories and in terms of drawing, but sometimes fillers can go out for months, making up full-fledged arches (an arch is a series with a well-defined sequence that are connected by one plot). In this regard, the "sheep" is not inferior in quality to the original anime. This can be seen both in the sketch and in the plot. OVA never interrupts the broadcast of the series, but leaves after the end of the season.
With "ovash" life is brighter
“Homeless God”, “The Tale of Fairy Tail”, “Volleyball”, “President of the Student Council, the maid” - there are hundreds or even thousands of TV shows with “ovash”. What is OVA in anime? For ordinary people, a common term that means a series that does not affect the storyline. And only for otaku it is known that OVA is another meeting with beloved heroes, which can be seen in different genres and roles, and for the last time enjoy their company at the end of the season.